This kid is suspended until you had to run your tough 4 game stretch, the put back on the team, only to be dismissed once the run is thru? There has to be more to this story. Please advise: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Urban Meyer and his Florida Gators care only about victories, not style points or pretty stats. Chris Leak ran for two touchdowns and threw for another Saturday as the seventh-ranked Gators survived Vanderbilt's fourth-quarter rally for a 25-19 win, their 16th straight victory in the series. ''Winning's all that matters,'' Florida coach Urban Meyer said. Maybe not. The Gators were fourth in the Bowl Championship Series standings last week and moving up won't be easy if they continue to play tight games. ''Are we playing all the time like a championship team? No,'' Meyer said. ''Championship teams take a big swing at you in the third, fourth quarter and knock you down. We're not doing that.'' With the win, and Tennessee's 28-24 loss to LSU, the Gators (8-1, 6-1) clinched the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division title for the first time since 2000 and a berth in the league championship game. ''It would be great for our program and great to do something that hasn't been done since 2000,'' Meyer said before getting on the plane to return home to Florida. The Vanderbilt Commodores (4-6, 1-5) are making a habit of scaring the Gators. They took the Gators to double overtime last season in the Swamp. On Saturday, they came in looking for another upset of a ranked team after breaking a 14-year and 49-game drought in such games at Georgia last month. The defense did its part by sacking Leak four times and intercepting him three times - a season-high for the Gators. ''Vanderbilt is a very disciplined defense on playing their assignments,'' Leak said. ''Eventually, things started going our way.'' The Commodores scored 13 points in the fourth quarter against Florida, including a 31-yard touchdown catch by Earl Bennett with 2:30 left, to pull within 25-19. Not until Florida recovered an onside kick were the Gators in the clear. ''Deep down, I felt like we should have won this game,'' Bennett said. Florida also came up with a key stop on fourth-and-2, tackling Cassen Jackson-Garrison short of the Gators' 9 with 6:06 left. ''I felt that our guys at the end of the game on defense got pushed in a little bit,'' Meyer said. ''But I think that is a product of fatigue and of the schedule that we play.'' Florida, playing without senior tackle Marcus Thomas who was dismissed from the team, gave up a season-high 391 yards offense but blocked two punts and came up with one turnover. The nation's ninth stingiest defense had been holding opponents to 261 yards. Chris Nickson threw for a career-high 298 yards. He started the rally early in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard TD pass to George Smith . Bennett finished with 13 catches for 157 yards. ''I'm proud of our players for playing hard and not giving up,'' Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. ''We just gave them too many opportunities early on, and that cost us the game. At times, we played well enough to win. Florida is a very fine team with outstanding athletes. They weren't going to give you any gifts.'' The Gators led 15-6 at halftime and went up 25-6 in a third quarter. Even Chris Hetland got into the action for Florida. The kicker who came in 1-of-7 on field goals split the uprights with a 29-yarder late in the third. Florida announced late in the fourth quarter that Thomas, who had been listed on the depth chart, had been dismissed from the team. He had been suspended indefinitely for violating the school's substance-abuse policy, but the penalty was later lifted by a university review and he played against LSU, Auburn and Georgia. As well as Vanderbilt finished, it couldn't have opened much worse. Ryan Smith blocked Brett Upson 's punt on the Commodores' opening drive, and Butch Rowley recovered at the Vandy 6. Leak scored two plays later, running in from 4 yards. The Gators botched the snap on the extra point, but even that worked out well. Rowley picked up the ball, rolled right and threw it to Tate Casey for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead. Leak also tossed a 14-yard TD pass to Dallas Baker early in the second quarter. ''It always feels great to get the ball and make a couple of plays, and also to get a victory,'' Baker said. Florida should have had an even bigger lead, but the Gators gave the ball back to Vandy after their second blocked punt on the next play when Curtis Gatewood deflected Leak's pass to Ray Brown . They could have scored before halftime except Jonathan Goff intercepted Leak's pass at the Vandy 3.
This is a joke right? Taken back after taking drugs but dismissed for going to Universal Studios and missing some curfews? Pathetic. I'd go back and read all those righetous posts after he won his "appeal" but I know what was said. It is a joke.
It's a joke that you don't think Meyer is legitimately disciplining Thomas. The University procedures allowed him a second chance because it was decided he failed a second drug test because of one incident....not two successive ones. However, according to this article Meyer had given Thomas no room for error and lowered the boom for not adhering to team rules. Wonder what Fulmer would have done...or Charlie for that matter. Man...the way you guys hate Florida it would be an extreme pleasure to put a beatdown on your favorite team in the Sugar Bowl. I hope to God you make it..
So does his loss hurt the team? But I don't actually hate the Gators, it just comes out that way because of my interest in Texas and ND and we're all 1 loss teams looking for some edge to get to the top of the 1 loss pile.
Charlie wouldn't have had a say. You start failing drug tests and you won't be playing and may be out of school at ND. Hey, the school bought that crap about his second failure was related to his original drug taking. The fact that you think that we buy this dismissal for curfew violations means you think we're just as stupid. Nice try.
Tell it to the Sun-Sentinel. I didn't write the article. Corey asked....I posted the only answer I have found. Why don't you guys just make one up that suits ya.
Your right that at ND (and the service academies probably) he'd have been suspended. But at no other big time program would it have been handled much differently. OK at Mich he would have not been allowed to start as punishment. I think I remember reading some big time coach in defending a similar situation commenting that harsh discipline on a particular star player is harsh discipline on the whole team and that was unfair. Now I know that is a rationalization and all, but that's pretty much the way things are done. There have been some incidents over the years where coaches took stands against star players when a big game was coming up. Of course we can think of Ark vs OU way back, USC vs ND in 1988. But at South Carolina Lou had a star RB who he kept giving second chances when he had a number of problems, Lou kept him on the team, he wouldn't have been able to do it at ND, but he did at So.Car. Then of course there was Peter Warrick, who didn't shoot the president. Michigan had a number of incidents it seemed where the discipline was not starting or missing the game vs W. Illinois. Terry
You Fla. folks are great at making up stories. I like the one where the second drug test failure was from the first violation. Why doesn't someone make up a story why they bother to test a second time if the residue from the first test is still detectable? Why bother. Why spend the money? Just so we're straight, just before some real tough games, he all of a sudden wins his appeal and is reinstated to play. He plays, the schedule eases up and he's dismissed from the team for curfew violations. What no appeal? How about he forgot to set his watch back when daylight savings time ended? They'll buy that won't they?
MCG, this is what I have been trying to tell you for years now. You bring a lot of this on yourself. You show absolute disdain for anything based outside of Gainsville, especially Tennessee, and you expect people to hold punches when suspicious activities happen in Gatortown? I don’t think so.
Hey Tom..."all this" isn't that serious. I like Florida and others like their team and we all like to debate the other. I think if there were 14 Florida fans on this board frequently and only one or two ND fans that the ND fans would feel a little boxed in at times as I do.....but hey....I'll get over it.
MCG, How the heck do you think I feel? I am the only regular poster from Tennessee here. That is 50% of the total regular Gators posters. Dan chimes in about once a week (which I'm grateful for Doc Dan) but other than that, I am it. You are not being backed in a corner because there are not enough Gator fans here. You are being backed in a corner because of your caustic actions.
Oops... Sorry GORT. He is just so tied up with issues that are much more important than what goes on in the college football world that he is not on very much either.
Ah, we're all outnumbered by the Domers here... Secret is just give 'em some beer and keep 'em happy.